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Monday, August 13, 2012

Update on Sunday school for this Sunday as well as the whole month of August.

I am trying to mix things up this season with different ideas and activities that will charge our kids with creativity as well as their spirituality. I am hoping these ideas will springboard new questions, thoughts and discussion amoung our kiddos. and we can also share with the adults in our congregation.

Here is my write-up for August as well as my thoughts.

August is month of no official holidays, but plenty of fun and opportunities to learn! The Christian faith celebrates The Transfigurataion of Christ in August, which is when Jesus met with Elijah and Moses on the mountain top. He had taken John, James, Peter and their eyes were popping out. Peter wanted to say there forever. The activites that I will outline will help helps understand that just like Peter, we need to remain in this world and sometimes do things that arent' fun. Our transfiguration is a promise from that day that we can enjoy while we wait!

The closing of the Olympic games is August 12th It's time for rewards after years of hard work. Those rewards are a lot like what we look forward to in heaven, so we're offering activities that show these likenesses.

Martin Luther King gave his famed "I have a dream" speech on August 28th of 1963. I will be providing activities to help celebrate what some consider a speech inspired by the Holy Spirit. This should help out kids understand that God made us all equal, but he also made us very diverse. As Christians, we should celebrate unity with diversity.

Finally, for the past few years, August has been named Water Quality Month. I will be providing ideas on how to raise money for countries where the drinking water is so foul that kids show symptoms of illness just moments after drinking what they need to survive. Fresh water is desperately needed, and I am providing ideas so that our kids can help other kids obtain the most basic essentials.

I will also be sharing some stories written by or about children, so they can focus on critical world situations that kids can put in their language.

This Sunday's lesson is "The Transfiguration of Christ".

Idea: In this World you will have Tribulation

Many wonderful messages can be garnished by the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. We don't know what was discussed in this meeting with Moses and Elijah. But we know that it gave three weary, confused and anxious disciples a little peak at heaven's eternal beauty and awesome power. It was the first plave in a long journey where they felt utterly at peace.

It was so wonderul to be in the midst of it that Peter suggested they stay there forever, building temples for Moses and Elijah. However, the meeting wasn't meant to be eternal; it was only meant to be respite = and a promise for the future.

Peter was probably very disappointed to hear that he had to go back down to the dusty grimy villages where they had been laughed at, stared at, argued with, and condescended to.

Theme; What's Good Enough for Peter is Good Enough for You!

Our activities, in honor of Apostle Peter in the toddler steps of his Christian walk: God promises us a beautiful transfiguration in heaven when we believe in Jesus. In the meantime, the message for us is the same as it was for Peter. We need to be here in the world and continue in faith while performing mundane, or stressful or not-much-fun tasks that occur every day, believing God is with us and will someday fulfill his promises. Kids generally do not like chores or homework or other responsibilities. They like to be free to play. Responsibility is their grimy village. Play is their heaven on earth. This week, the kids will play ganes where the hardest worker is "transfigured". We will play transfiguration tag and create a transfiguration cloud. We will also talk about caterpillars and butterflies and how it is transfigured.

The scripture covering the Transfiguration, which I will be reading to the kid is Mark 9:2-10.

I have also broken the the lesson such as Object Lesson: A Light Doesn't Change Strengths, Transfiguration game: Follow the sound of my voice, The song that they will learn for the first time is Play, Work and Purpose to the tune of Old Macdonald, and if we have time Transfiguration Craft, Magic Glasses. I really like this, as we a picture is drawn and with their "magic" glasses, the figure of Jesus will he invisable, but when the glasses are off, he will be visable.

Each of these will have conclusions.

To give you an idea: the conclustion behind the magic glasses is:

The Transfiguration gave the disciples a chance to see the true glory of God. There were seeing things differently than they ever saw things before. Just like them, we have to go on in a world where it's hard to see that Jesus is near us. We need to remember....the problem is only in our earthly eyes! He is very much with us, even if we have trouble seeing him down here on earth. He is with us every day, forgiving us, renewing us, and transfiguring us, by faith. (Matthew 17: 1-9)

Monday, July 16, 2012

Since Friday, July 20th is Moon Day, I thought we could incorporate it, and make it part of our Sunday school lesson for something fun, different and exciting for the kids. I would will have a simple experiment, arts and craft project as well as a scientific video about the moon. The experiment would demonstrate the most famous things the astronauts did without for a week - gravity! Gravity keeps our feet on the ground. It's alot like our faith; which keeps us from rocketing off into the darkness of strange teachings fron other faiths.

When we think about our spiritual lives, we can keep ourselves spiritually grounded by keeping Jesus in our thoughts ad prayers as we move through a day. Jesus will be our spiritual gravity--keeping ourselves grounded in our faith.

We celebrate Moon day because man landing on the moon was a great achievement. That day, man went off to somewhere so far away that it was impossible to see them or be near them. It's a little like death in that we can't see our deceased relatives. However, the men who went to the moon came back, very much alive. The moon walk should remind us that those who are absent in body are present in Christ. They will show up again someday too...to welcome us into the galaxy of heaven.

Isaiah 40:26 says, "Lift your eyes and look into the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.' If God can create the heaven's..if God can keep men safe as they explore the moon..surely we can trust him to keep us safe whe we call on him! Let's remember to look at our friends and family this week and remember how smart, strong and beautiful God is.

I will also have a laser show to show the kids as they enter the classroom and explain what the topic is above. Then we will have a simple experiment and finally, I will show perhaps a National Geographic show on the moon, followed by a snack. I have had several requests for my chocolate chip muffins this week.

Let us remember that the moon is far, but we can go further! When we die, we can go all the way to heaven, which will make the dark trip to the moon fade in comparison to the glory of the light of God!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The setting for the first chapter of the Book of Daniel is the capture of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian army has at this point swept accross the land, taking with them the best and brighest of the empire and relocating them to Babylon. The story of Daniel tells about one young man who was among those taken. Daniel and several of his friends were also selected to be trained to be in service to the Babylonian king. This was a great honor and required great mental and physical stamina.

Eating rich foods and wines from the king's table was one of the privileges of being selected to participate in this program. Since this was enjoyabe it must have been tempting for the young men to give in to this custom. However, being devoutly Jewish meant that Daniel and his friends were governed by certain dietary laws (much too complicated to go into here). The king's food obviously did not fall within these guidelines. Surely, it took large amounts of self-control for Daniel and his friends to pass up the rich royal diet adn to eat only those foods that they could be assured were properl prepared. These foods consisted moslly of vegetables and water.

The steward wo was in charge of the wellbeing of these young men was concerned that he would be blamed for any ill health they might suffer. Even the king was angry that the men would turn down the food served at his own table. However, Daniel managed to convince both that they should be allowed to put this to a test. How surprised both the king and the steward were when Daniel and his friends ended up healthier and stronger than those who ate the richer foods. The king came to admire Daniel and his friends for their self-control and wise judgement.

Given an opportunity, what child would choose broccoli over a bag of potato chip or a helping of mashed potatoes over a double-chocolate fudge sundae? Learning to make wise choices is one the skills of growing up. Learning to choose what is right is an issue of self-control; choosing what is best over choosing what one would rather have. Young children do not have many autonomous choices allowed them. But they need to practice whenever possible so that when the time comes to make larger, more life-affecting choices, they are equipped to evaluate and choose wisely.

So, in Sunday's lesson and story, Daniel finds himself, along with many others, taken from his homeland and forced to live in another culture, one that doesn't worship the one true God. Selected to be a part of the king's own staff, Daniel had to choose to remain faithful to his dietary laws when confronted with the excesses of the palace. how diffiult this mush have been!! And yet, with great self-control Daniel stood his ground and proved himself to be the better man for it. Children are not born with self-control. They have to learn it, oftentimes by the mistakes they make. Lack of self-control often shows up as greed, something that, as Christians, we work against. God wants us to share and think of others.

Our games and activities will include Vegetable soup, scattered categories, temptations, resit and Batik, one of our friendly puppets will make an apperance and discuss what was learned today and finally the story will be good choice. When we have our snack, if we have time, I will ready Charolette's Web which is out making good and bad choices.

Monday, June 4, 2012

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was ruled by the house of David until Juhah fell to the Babylonians sometime around 587 B.C. Josiah, who reigned from 640 B.C. to 609 B.C., became king when he was eight years old. Some time in his twenties, Josiah began to make his own decisions. Josiah looked around and saw that the worship practices of Assyria had, over time, influenced the worship practices of his people. These worship practices did not reflect what God intended worship to be. Many laws and rituals were ignored and eventually forgotten.

Now, Josiah, unlike most of Judah's kings, were faithful to God Josiah ordered thadt the Temple of Jerusalem be repaired. During the restoration of the Temple, some form of the Book of Deuteronomy was discovered (probably chapters 12-26 of our present book of Deuteronomy). Deuteronomy was the Book of Jewish Law. Huldah the prophetess verified the authenticity of the scrolls and Josiah called the people together to hear the words of the Law and for them to renew their covenant with God. The discovery of this Book of Law helped Josiah to reform the practices of the Hebrew people. Josiah established the Temple in Jerusalem as the central place of worship and reinstated the celebration of Passover.

Faithfulness of God set Judiah apart from the other kings of Judah and even from his own people. Josiah attempted to bring his people back to faithfulness to the God of the covenant, not to following the general fads of the culture around them. This sounds like a goal that might be espoused by a person today.

What does it mean to be faithful to God in the twenty-first century? Does it mean going to church and Sunday school? Does it mean praying and reading the Bible? Does it mean performing acts of service? Does it mean witnessing to others about Jesus? The answer to each of these questions is "Yes" - that and so much more. Being faithful to God and standing against pressure to conform to the fads of the day isn't easy;it never was.

This Sunday's bible lesson will tell the story of Josiah , the boy who became king of Judah when he was eight years old. Raised as a devout believer, Josiah noticed that the workship practices of Assyria had, over time, influenced the worship practices of his own people. So Josiah set out on a mission of reform. One of the reforms included the restoration of the temple. During this restoration, workers discovered a hidden cache of scrolls. Huldah then verifed the scrolls. After that Judah got the people together to reform and renew their covenant with God. is must have been difficult to call the people back to faithfulness after so long a time of doing something else. Consider your family's lifestyle? How does it conform to God's requirements? Or do you flow the times regardless?

The story this Sunday will be Josiah and the Hidden Scrolls, the games and activities will be Excavation Adventure, In Like Me, Can you dig it?, Fractured Scriptures and finally our art project will be to make a special something for Father's day which is next week.

Bible Verse: do everything God commands, and be faithful to God. Deuteronomy 11:22

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The story is told in the Gospels of Jesus curing the withered hand of an unfortunate man on the Sabbath. Jesus healed many people during his ministry. His kindness toward all of God's people is shown in the many stories of his love and compassion. Jesus healed lepers, ate in the home of Mary and Martha, raised Lazarus from the dead, and changed the life of Zacchaeus. However, the healing of the man with the paralyzed hand is an act that angered religious leaders of the day, specifically because Jesus was healing on the Sabbath, a day of rest.

Why was this such a problem? Today healing is done routinely every day of the week. Did Jesus merely set aside the laws of the Sabbath for more humanitarian purposes?

This story goes straight to the authority of Jesus and his acting in the name of God. Jesus' healing the paralyzed man on the Sabbath did not mean that we ignore the laws of God just because this seems to be the right thing to do. Jesus healed the man's withered hand because God has concern and compassion for God's children at all times. God has shown through Jesus that God's love and compassion for God's children is more important than rituals, even those commanded by God. The old way of doing things was altered to show kindness to one of God's people who greatly needed it. Jesus showed us tht God's compassion come first.

Can we do less as Christian's than to follow Jesus' example and show kindness to any of God's people when they need it? Should it matter when they might need our kindness or help? Children naturally reach out to others. Their hearts are easily touched by persons in need. Too often we, as adults, stifle their compassion with our more jaded, pessimistic and suspicious outlook on society.

Encourage the children to be kind to others. Encourage them to be kind to one another as well. It is more important to be kind than it is to observe all the correct rules of the church.

So this Sunday in Bible school, the children will have the stage set with one of the biggest conflicts Jesus had with the religious authorities. The Pharisees were a group of religious men who interpreted the Scriptures for the people. Their interpretations soon became a fairly rigit set of laws that people felt obligated to follow, even at the cost of being kind. Jesus knew that God wanted persons to maintain the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law, particularly when the letter of the law caused pain or suffering on the part of another human being. Your children will hear how Jesus deliverately challenged the sabbath laws in order to help a man who had been disabled for most of his life. Jesus' action now made it possible for the man to be a "whole" person in the biblical definition.

What make a person generous? What is the true measure of a gift? These are questions that can be addressed by looking at the story of the widow's coins.

Outside of the temple were thirteen receptacles to receive the gifts of the worshipers. There would be a loud clanging noise when the coins dropped. Jesus, one day, had been sitting watching people drop coins into these receptacles. He would have had to hear all the noise these contributions made. When the poor widow arrived and put her two copper coins into one of the receptacles it would have been easy to "hear" that her contribution was very small.

The two copper coins were the smallest of the denominations of coins. They had very little value. And yet the widow gave with her heart all that she had. These coins probably represented her next meal. The rich who had been dropping coins into the receptacles were giving out of their abundance. They could still afford large meals, lavish homes, and richly designed clothes. The widow would have none of these things, even if she kept her money. But the widow gave to God even that which she needed, while the rich gave of their extra.

Jesus did not condemn the gift of the weath, of the extra. What Jesus did ws to commend the extreme generosity of heart that caused the widow to give all she had to God. This generosity demonstrates a truly selfless way of living for us.

No gift of love is too small to count, and sharing what we have and who we are with complete unselfishness does not go unnoticed by God. Even the smallest gift can be the most generous gift. It depends upon the heart.

Children are natural givers. They give, without the expectation of anything in return. They give for the sheer joy of giving and making someone's day a little brighter. They can anticipate the enjoyment of the person who will receive their gifts. Commend these acts of generosity when you see them. Encourage these in the children.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

If anyone ever needed patience it was Abraham and Sarah. Twenty-five years had passed since God first promised to make of Abram a great nation. Now God was speaking again. Abram's and Sarai's names changed to Abraham and Sarah as a symbol of God's covenant with them. God's convenant was as everlasting convenant to be the God of a great people decscended from Abraham and Sarah. Abraham at the ripe old age of ninety-nine had a good laugh at this. This didn't seem a likely possibility. But God promised that in one year Sarah would bear a son.

Sarah was having doubts that God was going to come through with tht all-important child. After all, how can one have descendants without having children and time had, by all human standards, already run out for her childbearing years.

Hospitality in Bible times was more than a courtesy, it was a duty. Since Abraham and Sarah lived in the desert, visitors who were turned away might die of starvation or thirst. Besides, who knew when a stranger might end up being a friend or a welcome ally? When the three strangers came to Abraham's and Sarah's tent, Abraham greeted them and wound up entertaining God. The promise tht Sarah would bear a son was given again. This time it was Sarah that laughed. But God does not run by human time and the time had come for God to fulfill the promise to Abraham to make him the father of a great people.

Abraham's and Sarah's patience and obedience were rewarded. God's promise was finally fullfilled and a son was born to Abraham and Sarah. He was named Isaac, which means "laughter". Sarah rejoiced, "God has brought laughter for me; every-one who hears will laugh with me."

Patience is not a virtue that younger elementary children possess in great abundance. Waiting is pure toture for them. Help them understand that persons had to wait for God to act throughout the Bible. During this time of waiting persons almost always learned important lessons that affected them mightily. Think of the number of years persons had to wait for the coming Savior.

So in this Sunday's lesson plan will will discuss how from the very beginning God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would be the start of a new nation, one whose numbers would be almost uncountable. But Sarah was quite old. The two could not conceptualize how and when this would happen. But they trusted God and were patient. Eventually, the wonderful event did happen. We all know the story of the birth of Isaac. Having patience in waiting for God's promises is hard, because God's time is not always the same as out time. We want our prayers answered now. We want our blessings now. We want everything instantly. Help your children to develop a sense of patience. Do not always give in to children's demands for whatever they want to happen now. Teach them that waiting is a virtue.

The story will be called Wait for the Lord, the games and activities will include: dippety dip, The laughing game, gazillions of grains, surprise, surprise and finally we will be putting seads into pots and talking about the patience of watching a plant grow. We will also talk about how the seed has to sleep when the time is right. Warmth of the soil and water wake it up and it grows in its own special time. People grow in their time; animals grow in their time. Everything follows God's time.

Bible Verse: Be patient and wait for the LORD to act. Psalm 37:7, Good News Bible

Sunday, May 6, 2012

First since this is Sunday is Mother's Day, I wanted to let you know that the youth and the children will be teaming up to read a peom about Mothers this Sunday. This should be nice for all to experience.

Update on Sunday School. (you can put the next section as part of Christ Notes)

Have you ever wondered how Mother's Day got started? People started honoring mother's a very long time ago. When it first started it was called Mothering Sunday because people celebrated it the fourth Sunday during a time called Lent. Lent is the time before Easter where people think and prepare about the Easter story and what God did for us. Please the blog for fun facts as well as an informational story about Mom's and Mother's Day.

First of All, some fun facts about Mother's Day to share:

Mothers Day Trivia: On Mothers Day

Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who started Mother's Day celebrations also filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialisation of Mother's Day. She lost her fight. Anna had hoped for a day of reflection and quiet prayer by families, thanking God for all that mothers had done.

Julia Ward Howe staged an unusual protest for peace in Boston, by celebrating a special day for mothers. She wanted to call attention to the need for peace by pointing out mothers who were left alone in the world without their sons and husbands after the bloody Franco-Prussian War.

Japan's Imperial family trace their ancestry to Omikami Amaterasu, the Mother of the World.

Ancient Egyptians believed that 'Bast' was the mother of all cats on Earth, and that cats were sacred animals.

In the Bible, Eve is credited with being the 'Mother of All the Living.'

In the vast majority of the world's languages, the word for "mother" begins with the letter M.

Mothers Day Trivia: Highest Recorded Number of Children

The highest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia. Between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. 67 of them survived infancy.

Mothers Day Trivia: Highest Number of Children in Modern Times

The modern world record for giving birth is held by Leontina Albina from San Antonio, Chile. Leontina claims to be the mother of 64 children, of which only 55 of them are documented. She is listed in the 1999 Guinness World Records but dropped from later editions.

Quotes from the Bible about Moms

Exodus 20:1-12

[1] And God spake all these words, saying,

[2] I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

[3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

[7] Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

[8] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

[9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

[10] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

[11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

[12] Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Proverbs 31:25-31

[25] Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

[26] She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

[27] She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

[28] Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

[29] Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

[30] Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

[31] Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

John 19:25-27

[25] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

[27] Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Ephesians 6:1-4

[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

[2] Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

[3] That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Colossians 3:20

[20] Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

This Sunday, I will be sharing several stories with the children. One will be how Mother's Day got started, the others stories I will be reading will be Tabby Gray and The Giant and the Fairy Skill. Below is one of the stories I will be sharing with the children this week. We will also be making My Mommy Mini Books, writing down what we know about our mom's, doing a Mother's Day anagram, and discussing several questions such as: 1. What are some way's to honor your mother? 2. Why should you listen to your mom? 3. What is one way you can bless your mom?

Have you ever wondered how Mother's Day got started? People started honoring mother's a very long time ago. When it first started it was called Mothering Sunday because people celebrated it the fourth Sunday during a time called Lent. Lent is the time before Easter where people think and prepare about the Easter story and what God did for us.

Then 150 years ago a woman named Anna Jarvis, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, something she thought mother's believed in doing. She called it "Mother's Work Day."

After Anna Jarvis died, her daughter (also named Anna) wanted to honor all that her mother did. Anna heard her mother say that one day she hoped someone would make a special day just for mothers.

So Anna worked very hard and even talked to presidents and other leaders to try to create a special day just to honor them. By 1914 (almost 100 years ago) a man named Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

It just so happens that Anna's mothers' favorite flower was the white carnation and that's why mother's often receive carnations on Mother's Day.

The funny thing is, Anna ended up disliking Mother's day. She didn't want Mother's day to be all about the expensive gifts and fancy flowers but just a day to tell your mom that you love and appreciate her. So remember, moms don't need all that fancy stuff. Make her a nice card and treat her very special today (and everyday) and she won't need anything else.

Mother's are very special, so special that they are mentioned in the Bible. Since the Bible is like an instruction manual for us, it gives us instructions on how to treat our mother.

Do any of you know what the ten commandments are? They were rules that God gave to Moses for all of us to follow. Each commandment is very important and God gave each commandment for a reason. One of the commandments says: Honor your father and you mother, so that all may go well for you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

What does honor mean anyway? Honor can mean many things. When we listen, obey, love, appreciate, and forgive our mom that is how we honor her. That means when she asks you to do something you should do it right away without complaining.

When you show you love your mom by hugging her and telling her that you love her that's another way to honor. You can also appreciate your mom by thanking her when she does things for you (cleaning the house and your clothes, making supper, helping you, etc.).

Our mom won't be perfect all the time, we all make mistakes. So we should forgive our moms when they make mistakes because God asks us too.

Another verse in the Bible asks us to bless our mom. It says, "Her children arise and call her blessed." Some words that describe blessed are that your mom belongs to God and we need to treat her like she's God's child. Your mom used to be a child too and she's just trying her best to help you grow and learn things. So, treat her nicely!

Another way to describe blessed is to be happy. Do you make your mom happy? I'm sure you do a lot of the time and moms can be sad because of different things sometimes too, but I don't think your mom would be happy if you didn't listen to her or disobeyed her.

The last verse we're going to talk about today says: Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. I know that sometimes you don't always want to obey your parents but its important that you obey them because it makes God happy!

One last thing. No matter how old you get your mom is your mom. Sometimes you might think that you can talk back to our parents or that you know more than them, but you don't. The Bible says to obey your parents always, not just when your a kid. Your parents want the best for you and know what they're talking about.

Don't forget that we also have a heavenly father that cares and loves us no matter what. So if you don't have a mother around all the time (or even if you do) God is always there. He is there when our mother can't be.